Twilight Sparkle stood at the bottom of the lecture hall absent-mindedly doodling on the chalkboard. In big calligraphic script the caption "Changeling" was written on the board. Despite over fifty packed seats accommodating a small army of on looking unicorns, she spoke as naturally as if teaching a single protege. She spoke of how changeling anatomy worked and drew each part as she spoke in detail about them. Many questions came up about the evolutionary value of many facets of their appearance. Like why do they need such long fangs when they feed on immaterial emotions of love and kindness. Or why did they have holes on themselves that hold no bigger purpose than some god's artistic license. None of these questions however came from the stands, as Twilight Sparkle rambled her sagely nonsense. After finishing her childish doodle of what was meant to be a changeling Twilight turned to her class. The enthusiasm in their eyes practically flooded the room, that is if this statement were not sarcastic.
"Tell me my little ponies." Feeling their teacher's attention being drawn towards them, many bored looking ponies perked up in an attempt to seem studious. Twilight resisted the urge to grimace and merely kept on to save face.
"If changelings feed off love. How come they cannot feed upon each other's love?" Twilight eyed the room intently. This was exactly what she expected to happen.
The room was silent. Ponies made awkward glances at each other wondering whether they should answer or coaxing others to do so at the possible expense of looking the foal. None however were stupid enough to try. No, that statement is incorrect. What they lacked was courage. Here they are Twilight, the future of the imperial army. Twilight sighed for the first of what she knew of many times.
"If you had read my book on them my theory states that changelings are incapable of love. No matter how much you might think how pony-like they are or how a pony's love and friendship might change them, to them you are only food. Be it the flesh on your bones or your soul and your heart." There was an edge to her voice that she hadn't noticed until after she spoke. She bit her lip, hoping no pony noticed her slight shift into hysteria.
Ponies whispered amongst themselves. A few snide comments were passed around and few giggled at her words. To them this whole history lesson was pointless. A mere case study on a creature that did not exist. Twilight's patience was running short. How dare they suggest these treasonous things before her. Changelings didn't exist? Perhaps they supposed, the teaching about them was some sort of political propaganda. Or mayhaps the mythology of the changeling came to be was stemmed from the time Lunarian ponies fooled Solar ponies into coupling with them, ruining their lives. Endlessly there ignorant baseless pseudo-intellectual drivel washed over the whole room. Outrage was beginning to show on Twilight's features.
Changelings had not been exposed to public society in centuries. They were elusive creatures that naturally hid within pony society, tempting and coaxing lonely mares and stallions with promises of company and intimacy. For a time Celestia thought them allies, until their conniving ways had the empire fall into a land of debauchery and sin. Hedonism ruled far greater than Celestia's will and treason and heresy was rife in the kingdom. The death of so many lost souls... all because of the lies of monsters.
"Changelings exist!" Twilight Sparkle chided furiously. Her stamped hoof echoing loudly in the room, bringing the idle chatter of the students to a momentary halt. The look in her eyes made no attempt to be cordial, this was a mare that took no nonsense. They had heard talk of Twilight in her long years of life succumbing to madness, but these foals truly had no idea it was this extreme. Her usually smooth mane a mish-mash of impromptu bed head and split ends. Her eyes wide with narrowed pupils and iris. Her jaw disjointed into misalignment. That was the kind of face that wouldn't hesitate to kill some pony.
Realising her fall from grace. A good hoof to the face had her head shake the crazy away. With a small cough she spoke concisely and an air of cool. Her mane's still messy nature worked against this impression however.
"I know there is talk of them never existing on the streets; of them merely being old mare's tales to scare children at night and adulterous other halves to behave themselves. But all that are changeling lies. If you ignorant foals read your books you would know that to this day they live among us. They are a very real threat to national security and I myself intend to someday find them and destroy their lair. I swore by my brother and sister-in-law's love that I would avenge what they did on their wedding day. And all their sins there after!" Mayhaps she said that part a little too loud as ponies recoiled at the sudden outburst of zeal.
The blue sapphire around her neck began to glow, the spirit of shining armour echoed in her mind. I'm sorry, I lost myself there for a moment. How embarrassing. No pony moved while Twilight panted to calm herself. But what I say is sincere. I will avenge what Chrysalis did to you. Someday I may even free you, so you can join Cadence. Finally complete at gathering herself Twilight began to breathe deeply and slowly before speaking once more.
"Heh heh... I'm sorry everypony. I shouldn't be so easily offended." In truth she had every right but they wouldn't understand that. "Mayhaps it would be better if I taught you something practical." She smiled a pleasing smile. The students honestly didn't know what to make of the whole thing anymore. A boring lecture on some mythological creature had turned into a possibly life threatening situation.
Twilight made a move off the teaching platform and the room held its breath. With purpose the purple mare began to climb one of the many stair-aisles between the rows of seats. She placed herself around mid way up and looked at the nearest pony and smiled. The way he looked up reminded her so much of herself eons ago when she was but a little filly. Celestia seemed so big to everypony then and to this day she was, barring only Twilight herself who now matched the god-empress's stature. Twilight looked at the col student's desk and found that it was piled high with scraps of paper, filled with chaotic scribblings. A warmth came over her smile. This was a good kid
"Do you know the magic sight spell?" The colt shook his head and grimaced. In understanding she patted him on the head. That look on his face was all too familiar. She knew he was merely frustrated of not knowing of such a thing. Such lack of knowledge... These children were nobles who came to school so that they could garner power and be an official asset to the battlefield. As it stands Twilight had no doubt many of these unicorns will be drafted and most of this class would die. No pony but a few truly understood how important it was to be here. Taking personal lessons from Princess Twilight Sparkle, the greatest general of all the empire. And the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria.
Now seeing no point to go with the intimate approach Twilight promptly teleported back to the lecturing platform. She gave a passing wink to the colt just as she did. He didn't seem to like the mischievous look in her eye.
"The magic sight spell! Does anypony know this spell?" Many ponies looked utterly clueless and the usually coaxing and pressuring to answer began anew. Twilight looked intently and scanned for a victim to answer. A smirk was slowly forming on her lips.
"You with the book." Raising the book with her magic Twilight saw that it was the colt she talked to. He froze on the spot, a cold sweat forming on his brow. Twilight merely signalled with a hoof to command him to speak. Please restore my faith.
"I-it's a Lunarian unicorn spell that they use to see in the dark." The poor colt looked at her as if she would give him an execution order if he was incorrect. Fortunately he was correct, and she was in a good mood. There was just something about that young colt that she liked.
"Half correct. Although typically used by the enemy, this supposed "Lunarian magic" is but an illusion. Anypony with a horn can cast any kind of magic they want. It's just some are more naturally... inclined to cast certain types. What you hold between your brow is a means to do anything. Knowledge is power everypony, and our very survival depends upon it. The only thing stopping you is the ignorance of your own mind."
Twilight's horn began to glow brightly and it flashed a white light in the room momentarily. Everypony wiping blindness out of their eyes gasped at what they saw. Twilight Sparkle's eyes were glowing with a pure white light of treasonous magic. Or so many ponies believed. It was not illegal but it was a good sign when looking for Lunar spies. If the foals read their books, Lunarian eyes glow black when they use the spell.
"What the magic sight spell does isn't merely increasing the amount of light your eyes take in so that you can see in the dark. It makes you see into the aether and see magic invisible to the eye. When you work magic you feel it in the air yes?" To her joy they were giving her their full attention as they all nodded. "Magic sight let's you see that magic at work, the aura that every pony sees is only when the magic is concentrated a certain amount."
Everypony enthralled by Twilight's display, they all began to take notes. The sound of scribbling loud in the air. In her magic sight she watched as pens and pencils were gripped by an invisible aura. It made a curved miasmal line from the horn to the writing ornament, forming the ever common telekinesis spell.
"As you all know every pony has an aura to their magic. But did you know that changelings magic is always a darkish green?" Lunarian magic was also mostly cold colours, Twilight noted to herself. Scanning the room she found that some such spies were in her presence.
Some of the students stopped writing. Most of them in fact. They all looked at each other, indecisive on what to do. Twilight walked towards one of them and smiled, not quite hiding the sadism that was seeping through her excited form.
"This one for example. Is preparing something to kill me." With a will Twilight decapitated the short little mare. The room gasped.
"A simple spell, where you gathered and concentrated kinetic energy and blasted it into a thin wave. An attack that could practically cut through anything with enough discipline." The corpse of the dead mare was still spewing blood everywhere. Wiping their eyes and looking through the red haze, the white mare had turned black. Twilight raised the black fanged head of a changeling for all to see.
Ponies across the room looked on terrified, they eyed each other furiously. Desperate to find the changelings amongst them. It was useless however, a changeling's disguise was perfect.
"I ask of everypony to turn to your textbooks and find the magic sight spell in page 459, under my name."
Some unicorns looked around and fumbled for their textbooks and rushing through each page until they found it. None of these ponies did as changelings near them bit into their jugular, killing them in moments. The cleverer of ponies teleported away to the sides of the room while putting up barriers to shield themselves as they read through the book. They lasted longer but with no means of escape they were quickly overwhelmed. The smartest of all teleported beside Twilight, a mere six of them. Now out of harm's way Twilight had no need to hold back.
"I'm sorry Celestia. I'm going to make another mess." After the six colts had made it safely to her side, Twilight absent-mindedly raised a barrier. Invoking Shining armour's power the blue emerald around her neck began to glow. Her brother using his protection spell on them all, the changelings would be helpless as Twilight began to charge an elaborate spell. It didn't last though. Intentionally she unravelled her worked. The loud sound of galloping was just outside the door beside the teaching platform. It was a good place to enter, all the other exits were swamped.
"Princess Twilight! We heard the ruckus." Two mares burst into the room, breaking the door at its hinges. You're going to pay for that door. The orange unicorn bit her lip as she sensed those words from that single look she got from Twilight.
"Is it changelings again?" The white unicorn chimed in indifferently.
"Sugar, Spice make yourself useful." Twilight knew the pair very well, as two of the empress's new pupils. Quick to learn and adaptable in practical situations. Ideal battle unicorns.
As if the duo read each other's minds they went about their task. Sugar raised a barrier of flame that turned any changeling that leapt into it to incinerated ashes within seconds. True to her reputation, it seemed that she had modified it so that the flames were enchanted. Even if changelings weren't foolish enough to completely incinerate themselves, the slightest burn would have a flame slowly consume them. Spice summoned forth a gout of torrential rainfall all around the room to the relief of many burning changelings. And with a great blast of lightning, the wet changelings fried. Thanks to the fiery barrier Sugar raised, none of the ponies got even close to being damp.
Twilight having full confidence that she wasn't needed, merely watched it all unfold.
-
The six colts were preoccupied with watching Sugar and Spice. It seemed that even to them, watching them tidying up a classroom was amazing. Twilight looked to the little colt she liked and put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. The other five noticed the gesture and their attention shifted.
"Someday my little ponies. You will make young little unicorns feel the awe you now feel."
